


Lease Renewal

by wordyanansi



Series: Griffin Industries [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 20:28:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3623205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordyanansi/pseuds/wordyanansi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot wherein Bellamy's lease is up and Octavia thinks he should talk to Clarke about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lease Renewal

**Author's Note:**

> Set after Griffin Industries, but you probably don't need to have read it to enjoy this.

Bellamy sat on his couch idly pushing around the remnants of an Indian dinner in his plate, trying to decide if he really needed to eat another piece of naan bread. Octavia was in the kitchen, bouncing around, back from campus for the long weekend and staying with him. She’d cleaned out Clarke’s room and studio before she left, her car still full of the boxes and art work that totalled Clarke’s life. Bellamy, as always, couldn’t help but feel conflicted about it. She was here to stay, but she was giving up on becoming an artist. They’d talked about it, of course they had. But he had no answers and she’d already made up her mind. “It’s not easy to be a money-earning artist, and I have the company. It’s not like I’ll never draw or sculpt again, and maybe I’ll even sell something one day. But Griffin Industries… I don’t know, it matters.” He hadn’t been able to say anything, torn between ‘but you’re so incredibly talented’ and ‘please don’t go’. In the end he’d just held her against him, and kissed her hair. “Whatever you want, I’m here to support you,” he’d told her, and she’d hummed contentedly and snuggled in closer.

Lost in the memory, it took Octavia two attempts to get his attention. She was sitting down next him, waving a letter in his face.

“What’s this?” she demanded. Bellamy frowned, taking the paper from her. His lease renewal, partially filled out.

“Uh, what it looks like? It’s my lease renewal. I like it here. I’m pretty sure I’m going to renew it, but I just wanted to have a look at some other options first,” Bellamy replied, unsure where this was going. O rolled her eyes. Bellamy decided to have another mouthful of naan.

“I mean, why are you renewing it when you could be moving in with Clarke?” O asked, like she was speaking to an idiot. Bellamy began to choke on his naan in shock. A short coughing fit and a couple of gasps of air later, he recovered himself enough to splutter, “what?”.  Octavia folded her arms across her chest.

“Have you even spoken to her about it?” Octavia asked him. Bellamy frowned, swallowing down on the naan, trying not to react until his mouth was capable of responding appropriately. Once he had managed the task, he looked at his sister, confused.

“O, we’ve only been together a couple of months. It’s kind of soon, don’t you think?” Bellamy replied, giving up on the idea of more food, and taking his plate to the kitchen. Trying not to think about what Octavia might be implying, given that she was the ear Clarke most often talked into it. Octavia made a dismissive noise.

“Bell, let’s be real here. You’re going to spend the rest of your life with this girl, aren’t you?” she asked, looking over the back of the couch to watch his reaction. Bellamy tried not to let his hands shake or his stomach clench. He tried really hard not to smile at the thought of spending the rest of his life with her. And failed, miserably, much to O’s delight.

“And if we have the rest of our lives, another year before we move in together won’t change anything,” Bellamy replied, rinsing his plate. Octavia huffed.

“Seriously, Bell, you should at least tell her you are re-signing your lease. That’s a conversation that couples are meant to have,” O tried. Bellamy bit the inside of his lip, wondering if Clarke had said something to her and knowing he could never ask. One of the ground rules they’d lain initially. They weren’t allowed to hound Octavia for information about the other one, keep her out of it so they could all stay friends if it didn’t work (and Bellamy couldn’t pump Clarke for information about his sister when he was worried). But it was so tempting right now to find out if Clarke had said anything. And then something else clicked into his brain.

“Octavia, how do you know what couples are meant to talk about?” he asked his sister carefully. O twitched uncomfortably, and Bellamy raised his eyebrows in a silent question. Octavia sighed and looked back to him, pouting.

“I was going to tell you,” she tried. “But I didn’t know how you’d react.” Bellamy felt a strange urge to punch something all of a sudden. She’s a person, not just your little sister, he reminded himself. Felt Clarke’s mouth hover near his ear, _‘she is an adult, Bell, and she’s really smart. Trust you raised her well and let it go and just be her brother’_. The tension in his shoulders dropped slightly.

“Tell me now,” Bellamy replied, making sure he sounded pleasant and interested and not like he was planning a murder, leaning forward against the kitchen counter. Octavia turned to face him properly, elbows on the back of the couch smiling nervously.

“You know him. You’re probably not going to like it,” Octavia offered. Bellamy laughed, when was he ever going to like it?

“Just tell me, O,” he said. Octavia bit her lip.

“It’s Lincoln,” she said, watching his face carefully. Lincoln, Bellamy remembered, with the modelling and the tattoos and the accountant that Clarke hired after he left… _‘the very good accountant who is saving your girlfriend’s company’_ Clarke whispered in his ear. _‘And the very nice responsible man who always treats people with respect. That you trusted enough to consider employing.’_ Who is a good five years older than Octavia, he responded curtly. And then he heard Clarke’s laugh, _‘which is exactly how much older than me you are.’_ Bellamy sighed, having lost the battle, and she wasn’t even here to have it with him. How did that even happen? But he smiled at his sister.

“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” he said after a moment. Octavia barked out a laugh of disbelief and stared at him.

“Are you serious?” she asked him. “You’re not angry? He’s older and tattooed and… “ Bellamy tried not to be amused that those were the exact thoughts he’d had in head.

“Look, wouldn’t be my first choice for you, but it’s your life. I’m happy if you’re happy. And I will beat the living shit out of him if he ever hurts you,” he replied, turning back to the dishes.

“Clarke’s good for you,” Octavia told him. He turned to his sister again, questioning. She grinned at him. “I also owe her a bottle of rum, she’d said you’d be fine about it.” Bellamy tried not to drop the plate he was holding.

“She knew!?” he exclaimed. “She said nothing. At all!” Octavia laughed. Bellamy was plotting all the things he’d do to punish her for that.

“Hey, ground rules. She did as asked,” Octavia said defensively. “I’m surprised though, I thought she would have said something. Who knew she was so good at keeping a secret!” Bellamy sighed.

“So, how long exactly have you and Clarke been not telling me about this?” Bellamy asked her, interested. Octavia screwed up her face.

“Since… before you guys got together,” Octavia offered. Bellamy’s look of shock was a sight, and she continued quickly, trying to make it better. “It was only, like, casual to start with. He was back on campus doing some postgrad work and we ran into each other at a bar… and then he moved back here to work for Clarke and we just sort of hooked up when we were in the neighbourhood-,”

“Please, dear god, do not tell me about you hooking up, ever,” Bellamy interrupted her.

“And then lately it’s been kind of more serious and… anyway. It was just time you knew,” Octavia finished, ignoring the interruption. Bellamy nodded. He sighed. His little sister was all grown up and falling in love. Just like him.

“So, when do I get to meet him?” Bellamy asked after a moment.

“You’ve already met him,” Octavia replied, laughing. Bellamy pulled a face at her.

“You know what I mean, O.” Octavia rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you mean when you can you meet him and play the big brother card?” she teased him. Bellamy threw a tea towel at her.

“Yes, exactly,” he replied.

“We could do a double date with you and Clarke?” Octavia suggested after a moment. His boss and the older brother of the girl he was dating… yes, that would be very intimidating, Bellamy mused. Octavia clearly hadn’t thought about it from that perspective, instead thinking about how Bellamy softened around Clarke. Bellamy grinned, the upper hand sounded like a great place to start out the new relationship.

“Sure, set it up with Lincoln and Clarke,” he replied.

“Only if you talk to Clarke about renewing your lease,” O countered. Bellamy frowned, having almost forgotten about that.

“I don’t know, O… I don’t want to scare her off,” he sighed, moving back to the couch, dishes completed. Octavia leaned against him, flicking the TV on.

“You won’t. Besides, it’s just a conversation, it’s not like you’re proposing or anything,” Octavia told him.

Bellamy did not think about the ring he had purchased the previous week, or the email he had received telling him that it was ready to be collected at his earliest convenience. He’d known after that first night, when she’d answered the door in what could only be described as “that dress”, the black fabric clinging to her like a second skin, the neckline revealing the curves of her breast, and the way her hips swayed seductively as she’d led him to the kitchen. He’d known after a month when she’d had the flu and he’d brought her chicken noodle soup and she’d looked terrible, pale, messy haired, sweat pants, and she’d hit him away telling him not to look at how hideous she was, and all he could see was how much he loved her. He’d known when he’d woken up on the couch next to her at 1am on a Sunday morning having fallen asleep before the end of the movie, and when he’d shifted away from her she’d whispered in her sleep for him not to go, and he had replied that he promised he wouldn’t, and he’d meant ever, not just right then.  He’d known for as long as they’d been dating that he was going to marry her one day. And when he’d seen the ring in the window that he knew was perfect for her, he’d bought it on impulse. He knew they weren’t there yet, but when they were, he’d be ready.

“No, of course not,” Bellamy replied lightly, turning his attention to the movie his sister had selected and focussing on enjoying the evening of sibling bonding. Clarke wasn’t the only one who could keep a secret.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look, it's "that dress". 
> 
> I found this while I was digging through some files for something else. Apparently I thought "gi3" was a good file name for it.


End file.
